[video]

[bird_brain]

[Aubri speaks with an urgent clipped tone, though it's fairly obvious there's something distracting him: he looks to the side every now and again before his gaze flits back to the locket.]

Has anyone seen or heard from a woman named Ariadne? [There's a hint of desperation there; he's really like someone to answer him in the positive here.] She disappeared--

[And his distraction strikes again: Ariadne's bandersnatch cub is apparently doing something dumb off-screen.] Straton. [Aubri turns back to the locket.] She disappeared last night near the Station Ring. I fear--

--Straton, enough. [There's a bit of rustling off-screen and then Aubri hisses. Just before the broadcast ends, there's one more thing said -- and it's obviously not meant for the wider audience.] That is my tail. Thrice-blighted little--

[And the locket closes.]

Comments

[bird_brain]

Only across the clearing. She went to pull the horse from danger.

[huge_egomd]

Huh. [That's a bit of a puzzler all right.]

What kind of danger was she trying to rescue the horse from?

[bird_brain]

The creatures. She stepped into the shadows in the presence of creatures made of shadow.

[... He's very worried.]

[huge_egomd]

She what?

[Aubri should be worried. Walking into a shadow to escape a shadow is...not a wise choice. Seriously. Ariadne, what were you thinking?]

[bird_brain]

Exactly.

[Yep. That.]

[huge_egomd]

[He's just going to silently fuss and fume for a moment.]

Oh for the love of god. Those bitey little bastards are everywhere. And not all of them are so little. Like, really not little at all.

[bird_brain]

Talons do nothing against them. Flight helps but... [But Aubri cannot fight them and it wears on him.

That, and he's still fighting some soreness here and again while in flight.]

[huge_egomd]

Have you tried screaming at them? [Yes, you'll feel like an idiot but it works. And it's a better solution for a non-combatant like House.]

[bird_brain]

Screaming that word that I cannot pronounce? It works beautifully. [Hey, look. Sarcasm. He's never complained about his accent before.]

[huge_egomd]

[Sarcasm just like Mom used to do. Makes House feel all warm and fuzzy inside.]

So grab an imp. Trust me, if one of those shadow things shows up, the imp will be screaming loud enough for the both of you. [Of course, that means you have to deal with a pain in the ass imp but no plan is perfect.]

[bird_brain]

Between Straton chewing on my tail and a fairy who likes to perch on my head, we might have it well covered.

But I'll try the imp and keep whichever one screams loudest.

[huge_egomd]

Dude, I told you to put a muzzle on that thing. [He's not even going to start with the fairy on your head because that's just going to send him off on a tangent. Not to mention all the (likely inappropriate) jokes.

Okay. That's a lie. He can't not ask.] Why do you have a fairy on your head?

[bird_brain]

[Flatly:] It keeps coming back.

[huge_egomd]

That's...unfortunate. [He's visibly struggling to not pursue the matter because he knows it's irrelevant to the initial topic of conversation. It's just so hard.]

On the bright side, you may be starting a whole new fad. Next thing you know, all the cool kids will be wanting a head fairy.

[bird_brain]

They are welcome to it.

[huge_egomd]

Not a fashionista, eh? Probably for the best. Fashion is definitely in the eye of the beholder. [In House's eyes, fashion is stupid and expensive and occasionally just plain weird. He's got better ways to spend his time and money...or did before he ended up here.]

Anyway.... If you see Ariadne, let me know and I'll do the same. [He doesn't have a lot of hope but occasionally his pessimism is unfounded.]

[bird_brain]

Thank you. It is very much appreciated. I will keep in contact.